few feet. It shouldn’t be out by an entire house.” He keeps pressing buttons. “But even if it’s up to date, it’s no big deal, right?” His voice is edgy. “She’s only next door. Maybe they went to speak to the old lady about the barking dog.”
Like hell they would. Neither one of those women are stupid enough to be walking around the streets at night. Not even to the neighbor’s house.
“Hold up.” He raises a hand as we reach the ostentatious white, double-story building beside Torian’s, with its open front yard, billowing trees and thick bushes. “Should we check it out?”
I stop before the driveway, placing the car in park. “Call Sarah again.”
He complies, the muted ringing uninterrupted until voicemail cuts in.
“Would Penny have taken the cuff off?” He shoots me a panicked glance. “Then, I dunno, thrown it over the fence or something?”
I wipe a hand over my mouth, not buying that story either. “I’m hoping your app is a piece of shit.”
“It’s not. I’ve been tracking a long list of people with this for months.”
I cut the ignition to climb outside. I stare at the darkened house, the only illumination coming from the window in the very middle of the lower level, the light seeping through the sheer curtains from a distant room.
For a house earlier consumed with high-decibel dog barking, it’s now eerily quiet. The canine doesn’t even yap when Decker follows me outside and slams his door shut.
“Something doesn’t feel right.” I rest my arms against the top of the car. “We need to keep moving.”
“Wait a minute.” He takes a step toward the gutter. “There’s someone in the upstairs window. Third from the right.”
I trek my gaze to where he’s looking and squint at the darkened curtain.
After what I just went through with Benji, I’m hoping it’s another dose of paranoia that has me imagining a gun barrel pointing in our direction. I blink to dislodge the mirage, only it doesn’t budge. Instead a red dot appears, the glaring gun laser gliding toward Decker.
“Get down.” I jump onto the hood, and dive over the car to tackle him to the ground. We land in a heap, my shoulder colliding with asphalt. “Move. Move. Move.” I grab his jacket, dragging him to his feet. “Find cover.” I run for the bushes, hunched over, and pull my weapon from the back of my pants.
Decker follows a heartbeat behind, but the gunfire I anticipate doesn’t rain down. There’s nothing. Only panted breathing and the fucking chirp of crickets.
“Tell me I wasn’t the only one to see that.” I peek through branches, my gaze levelled at the window that no longer has any sign of life.
“You weren’t.”
“Then we’re in some heavy shit.” I keep low and creep closer to the house. “Message Hunt. Tell him to get his ass here asap.”
“Do you think Penny’s in there?”
I can’t talk about her. One nudge of that trigger and fear will take over my decision making instead of logic. I hunch, running as close to the ground as possible toward a nearby hedge.
Decker remains in my shadow, pulling out his phone and tapping at the screen. “Are you going to answer me? What the fuck are we doing?”
“You wanted to stop. So we stopped.” I glare. “Now, I need to know what the fuck is going on.”
“You think she’s in there.” It’s a statement this time, one laced with panic.
“What I think is that a gun laser was pointed directly at your skull. So either the old lady living here quit taking her meds, or someone else is in there attempting to start a war.”
“Fuck.” He pockets his cell, palms his Glock, and checks the magazine. “What do you want me to do?”
“Keep quiet and follow me.” I scramble from one bush to the next, moving toward the farthest corner of the front yard.
The chances of gaining any advantage are dick to none. They know we’re here. I can only attempt to find the fuse box and shut off the power, which might leave our enemy scrambling long enough for us to get inside unnoticed.
“I hope you’re good with dogs.” I run for the head-high sandstone wall blocking us from the back of the house and scale it with a few well-placed footholds.
My boots hit the ground and I tense, waiting for the scramble of canine feet that never eventuate.
The only change to the night is the brighter glow coming from around the rear of the house more than fifty yards